A Climbing Betty's journey to find love & strength in the mountains

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Have you been to the Gunks? Do you know how epic climbing here can be? I thank my lucky stars this is my home crag, but even I haven’t seen it look this sexy before. Give it a watch. Fair warning: probably NSFW if you find beautiful footage of climbers free-soloing classic routes to cause your palms & brow to break out in a cold sweat, your heart rate to increase and your breathing to become more shallow & rapid- necessitating a hasty exit to the nearest bathroom… or supply closet.

Shameless plug- if you do plan a climbing trip here- go over to the App Store and download yourself the Trapps App (and now the Nears App too!). This is really the best ‘guidebook’ to the area. And since you’re carrying your phone with you for all those summit selfies you’ll put on Instagram later, no excuse not to download it.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. My climbing season is winding down (more like, its done) and now its my LEAST favorite time of year. November.

I despise November simply because its generally too damn cold to rock climb and yet, it hasn’t gotten cold enough to ice climb or ski yet. This morning I woke up and despite the pellet stove, it was only 59 degrees in my bedroom upstairs. I’m seriously thinking of seeing if Feathered Friends won’t make me a down snuggie. I love winter, generally, because I love playing in and on the snow & ice, but this brutal cold without the instant gratification of my beloved winter sports, just sucks.

I say all this because maybe I’m just cranky. I’m adult enough to admit it.

So when I watched the video for the Access Fund’s Commit to the Pact project today, I’ve gotta say, I think this was a waste of time and resources.

NOT because protecting climbing access isn’t important to me. It’s extremely important to me. And as I’ve demonstrated above, climbing and being outside are integral parts of my mental health care routine and are probably necessary for the physical safety of those around me. But here’s why I think this campaign misses the mark:

1.) I already do this!!!! Maybe its my trad roots, but this is how I roll whenever I climb. I pack my shit out. Literally. (I’ll never forget summiting Rainier with a FULL blue bag attached to my pack and having to carry it all the way back down to Camp Muir.) At the crag, I am often picking up other people’s trash and packing it out too. I respect designated parking signs, unlike this person…I’m not listening to loud music. I’m not climbing in a big group. I stay on the trails. I respect closures, etc. Since I already do this, what is the point in committing to some sort of pact to do the behaviors I already do? Unless my home cliff is some sort of mythical exception to the rules, this is the way my climbing friends roll too. (Though a few folks could be a little better on the packing-it-out-thang, like when I find someone else’s TP in the woods…..). So it seems silly to me to create a campaign to ask people to commit to doing the things they already do.

2.) The minority of climbers- the ones who need to hear this message and change their behavior, are not going to be impacted by this. Like the person parked next to the No Parking sign above. They don’t care about how their shitty park job might affect other people’s access. They are selfishly thinking of only their needs and desires. “I need a parking space. I can’t find one. I’ll make my own, screw the rules.” Furthermore, this type of person is not exactly open to criticism about their douchey behavior. My hubs, who is a professional guide, is forever telling me stories from the cliff that illustrate this. Like the time he asked two guys not to rappel directly off of a small tree when there was walk off/down climb option less than an 100 feet away. They defended their actions saying that because the tree already had grooves from being rapped off of before, it was OK for them to do the same. *facepalm* Or the dude in the lifted 4×4 who decided it would be a good idea to park half way in the woods simply because he could. He unnecessarily mowed over some brush and sapplings, for what??? When Hubs asked him to simply back up the truck so that it was no longer half in the woods, the owner of said truck started screaming at him that it was none of his damn business where and how he parked.

Those are just two incidents from one month this summer, but similar encounters happen routinely. And they are primarily why I don’t have a lot of hope in the success of the Commit to the Pact campaign.

The campaign features several well-known climbers like Alex Honnold, Tommy Caldwell and even Lynn Hill. The idea is that even for those of us who do already practice Leave No Trace and other ways of minimizing our impact, we can help the cause of maintaining access by encouraging others to ‘do the right thing’ when we see them doing the ‘wrong thing.’ But how is this supposed to work when the wrong-doers are largely not receptive to criticism and feedback that what they are doing is in fact, wrong? How do you teach a selfish person to care about how their actions potentially impact others? Particularly in climbing culture, many of the personalities drawn to climbing are independent types who eschew societal norms to a certain extent. We have a sort of ‘cowboy culture,’ so how are you going to tell that kind of person that they need to conform to a certain ethic?

Does something need to be done about this issue? Definitely. I know that I, for one, am tired of picking up other people’s garbage, seeing trees on the cliff dead or dying because someone couldn’t be bother to walk over to the rap route or shaking my head for the umpteenth time at someone’s douchey park job (Hey folks visiting the Gunks- in case you couldn’t figure it out, those little green things sticking out of the dirt serve to mark out INDIVIDUAL parking spaces, so please stop taking up TWO parking spaces, especially on the weekends!!!) In the end, I do think that campaigns like this one are better than nothing at all, especially if we as the climbing community can learn from the experience and use it to create more effective campaigns in the future. I just wish the donation I make to the Access Fund each month would have been used for something that would have a better chance of fixing the problem.

YOUR TURN! Tell me what you think of the campaign! Do you think it will work? Or is it just preaching to the choir? Do you see these same issues at your home crag as well? Got any ideas for a more effective strategy for dealing with them????

Though I’ve been climbing for over 16 years now, shamefully, it’s only been for the last two years that I have been a member of the American Alpine Club. I joined before my first trip to Rainier primarily for the rescue insurance. Prior to that, I had assumed that membership was really only for alpinists and/or old dudes. How wrong was I?!?! Since becoming a member, I have renewed my membership every year around this time and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Not an exhaustive list by any means, these are my top 7 reasons why AAC membership is worth every penny.

DISCOUNTS! I am a total Pata-holic. I love their stuff and probably have way too much of it. With an AAC membership, I get 20% of regularly priced items on the web. That’s like having a sale everyday of the year! The money I have saved with this one discount alone has been worth to cost of membership. My other favorite discount is a special member’s link to Backcountry.com which gives you 10-30% off most items. And Backcountry.com carries everything!!!! With just these two discounts, membership is really a no-brainer.

Grants. Last year I was selected by the Northeast section to receive a Live Your Dream Grant to climb the Fischer Chimneys route on Mt. Shuksan (read about my trip here and here.) It was my second-ever alpine climb. How cool is that? Little ol’ me, getting a grant to go on a climb? And that’s exactly what is so awesome about the LYD grant program- its for everyday climbers (well, more like the weekend warriors.)

AAC Library. A whole library of climbing literature at your finger tips. You go online, ‘order’ the book you want and they send it you. Super easy. And there’s no late fee like the public library! (Though you should be considerate of others who may be waiting to check out the book as well. And if you keep it for more than a year, they will charge you the cost of the book.)

Rescue benefit. I have not had to use mine, but it does give me peace of mind to know I have this. Ditto for when the hubs is out in the backcountry.

Lodging discounts. I’m watching the AAC campground at the Gunks go in right now. I cannot tell you what a big freakin’ deal that is. Before I moved to the area, I did camp here. I’ve stayed a few nights at Camp Slime, which has great views, but is quite crowded. I remember my first time staying there, we got in late and set up our tent in the dark. There was hardly anyone there at that time. When I woke up in the morning and got out of my tent, I nearly face-planted after tripping on a guy line of another tent set up right in front my tent door. From then on I stayed at the MUA, or as we called it, ‘the multi-abuse area.’ That was funny at the time, but it soon became no joke. The surrounding area became so impacted by the lack of clearly-defined, designated campsites and lack of toilet facilities, that the DEC had to severely limit the camping there. Between the small, cramped size of Camp Slime and the need to limit camping at the MUA, we’ve suffered from a serious lack of places to for visiting climbers to stay. Sure, there are campgrounds and other things scattered about, but some of them are quite a ways away from the cliff and/or expensive. Thanks to the new campground the AAC is helping to build just below the cliff, we’ll have really nice facilities for visiting climbers. Perhaps even more importantly, by having real toilet facilities, designated campsites on durable surfaces and a trail from campground to the base of the cliff, we’ll be able to lessen/concentrate climber impact and be able to preserve some of the wild nature of the area.

Accidents in North American Mountaineering. Though not an exhaustive or all-exclusive list (most incidents are self-reported), it’s really helpful to learn from the mistakes of others. The 2013 ANAM focused on Lowering accidents since they are making up the vast majority of reported accidents. According to Mike Poborsky’s write up, 56% of lowering accidents happen when the rope is too short and the climber either raps off the ends of their rope or a belayer lowers a climber off of the end. It takes two seconds to tie a knot in the end of your rope and prevent this. Would you be more inclined to do that if you knew it could prevent 56% of all lowering accidents? Considering what the cost could be of getting hurt this way- hospital and doctor bills, time off of work, time off from climbing, psychological ramifications- reading ANMA and learning from this could save you so much beyond the paltry sum you pay for membership.

How about you? What’s one of your favorite ‘perks’ of being an AAC member? Tell us in the comments below! Not a member yet? What are you waiting for?!?!? Join today!!!

I’ve never done a ‘gear review’ post before. I don’t get free gear to review from companies or anything like that, so I never thought my opinion mattered that much. Then I realized that most folks are average users like myself. So I thought I would take a crack at it and just share with you a few of things that I am totally in love with this season.

1. Stonemaster Skinny Climbing Pant– I have been eyeing up these pants for awhile at my local shop (Rock and Snow in New Paltz!) and finally took the plunge. All I have to say is ‘why did I wait so long????’ I would have worn them all spring if I had gotten them sooner! I love the stretch in them that that doesn’t inhibit my climbing movements at all and the skinny-leg, three-pocket styling is super cute. In fact, the first day I wore these to the crag, I also wore them later that night with a pair of super-sexy pumps to a nice dinner with my climbing partner. These are also a great choice for ladies who want to rock the skinny leg look but find regular jeans to be too binding in the hips/thigh area.

2. La Sportiva Women’s Katana– Personally, I LOVE the new color for the women’s Katana, but it wouldn’t mean much if they didn’t climb well also. I feel like a climbing ninja in these shoes!!! They edge on a dime and smear like nobody’s business. My confidence has gone up so much climbing in these! Best of all, I personally find them comfortable enough to climb in for most of the day. I’ve climbed in super-tight shoes before and its just no fun to be in so much pain you can’t think about the climb and the first thing you want to do when you get to the belay is rip your shoes off! The strap closest to the ankle is a little long for me and sometimes gets caught on things, but it hasn’t caused me any serious problems, especially since the shoes have broken in and the molded a little better to my foot. As long as they make them in hot pink, I will be buying more of these puppies!

3. Petzl Micro Traxion- I was introduced to this little gizmo for top-rope soloing this spring. It rocked my world! I could set-up a top-rope and in a few hours climb hundreds of feet- without needing to find a partner! It made for a great way to train/exercise for a few hours on a nice afternoon and it helped me on a mental level too. I climbed on TR solo much like a would on lead even though I had the back-up of the top rope. It really boosted my confidence and empowered me with a new set up of skills for climbing. I think this is one of the biggest reasons I’m having a lot of success on the sharp end so far this season!

4. Patagonia Women’s Merino 1 Silkweight Tank- How do I love thee? Let me count the ways! So I know its going to sound a little gross, but I wore this top for almost a week straight before I finally took it off and washed it- and put it right back on again! But that’s the beauty of it! Its merino wool, so even in the hot-hot-hot of summer, sweatin’ up a storm while bakin’ on the cliff, this thing doesn’t stink! It’s like miracle fabric! The other beautiful thing about wool is how little material it takes to do its job well. This top is very lightweight and breathes like a dream. The scoop neck cut is super-flattering while providing the perfect amount of coverage. I want more of them!!!!

5. SheJumps trucker hat- When I take my helmet off at the end of a climbing day- it ain’t pretty. My hair is either all over the place or plastered to my head after sweating in the sun all day. This trucker hat saves my bacon by giving me a stylish way to cover up that mop. But the real beauty of this hat is that sales support SheJumps- a non-profit who’s mission is to increase female participation in the outdoors. Win-win! Who doesn’t want more awesome women to climb, ski, bike, paddle, run or lift with????

I worked for a woman once who had a wall in her office covered in photos. She was a big skier and most of the shots were of various mountains with various friends.

Even though I really disliked the woman and thought she was a hack, I had to admire her wall of photos. If I had to be like her in one way, that would be it. I wanted to have a wall in my office full of summit shots.

To me, that’s the way to capture the moments that count. Things come and go, but the experience in beautiful and wild places with good friends- no one can ever take that away from you.

To me, that’s the way to capture a life well lived. No one is going to talk fondly of the years of their life chained to a computer screen at crappy desk job or wants to hear someone brag about how much house cleaning they got done last Saturday. My friends know my motto is “a clean house is the sign up a wasted life,” so if you can’t handle dog hair everywhere, don’t come over to my house.

To me, that’s the way to show people another side of me. Yeah, I’m more then just your doctor, I have life beyond these walls a heart that seeks to be free as well.

To me, that’s the way to start a conversation with someone about what ignites their passion. When you can help someone tap into the inspiration that comes with being aligned with your passion and purpose, that’s where magic truly happens.

To me, that’s the way to remember part of what I work for. Being an entrepreneur is hard; I routinely have to do the jobs of several different people, but with a much narrower skill set. Some days it seems like it would be easier to just give up and get a ‘regular’ job. But then I think of the freedom I’d have as a successful entrepreneur and the places I could travel because of that… and suddenly a few extra hours behind the computer screen ain’t so bad.

Slowly I’m building my wall of photos. They are mostly in digital format for now as I still need a place to put them! How about you? What do summit shots mean to you?